Customers at a refrigerator showroom to select their choice of brand as the sale of refrigerators has reached its peak in all showrooms and marketplaces in the city in the advent of holy Eid-ul-Azha.

As the holy Eid-ul-Azha approaches, the sale of refrigerators has reached its peak in all showrooms and marketplaces in the city, reports BSS.

Different companies including Walton Hi-Tech Industries Ltd, a local pioneer in manufacturing refrigerator, have beefed up the item’s sales offering competitive price, price discounts and improved services.

While visiting electronics showrooms, this correspondent found that outlets were buzzing with customers to buy home appliances as per their taste and attitude.

“Our sale has increased 300 per cent during the last few days and the sale will go up further three or four days ahead of Eid,” Amdadul Hoque Sarker, director (marketing) of WALTON, told the news agency.

Sarkar described the period as one of the important seasons of a year from sellers’ point of view and said, “Normally we sell on an average 2,000 units of refrigerator per day while the sales go up to 4000 units during Eid-ul-Azha.”

“We have sold all-time 10,259 units of refrigerator only on October 1 and the sales will boom after two or three more days,” he added.

He said prices of our refrigerator are at the purchasing power of middle-class people unlike foreign products available in the country. As for example, he said, price of a refrigerator is Taka 38,500 while it will cost over Taka 60,000.

Emranul Kabir, executive of sales and marketing of Esquire Electronics, said, “Our sale has increased about 20 per cent, and may go up to 50 per cent in the coming days before Eid.”

“We usually sell double refrigerator during the month before Eid-ul-Azha compared to other months,” said Nasiruzzaman (Nasir), Manager of AB Electronics.

It is a common phenomenon that ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, consumers buy refrigerator, television, blender, rice cooker, and microwave woven to ease their living, said the industry people.

Local consumer electronics giant Walton has aimed at more than doubling its daily production of refrigerators by the end of this year as the company is looking to make its mark in the wider international market.

The wholly Bangladeshi owned company- which is a concern of the local R.B. Group, is planning to increase its daily production output of refrigerator to 2,500 from its present level of around 1000, the company authority said Saturday.

“With the Eid ul Azha in the offing, demand for refrigerators, which is our trademark item, is running high in the local market at the moment” a senior marketing official of Walton told FE.

“However, after the end of the Eid season, we would increase our daily production to 2,500 per day as we are eyeing a number of overseas markets for our export”, said Moudud Parvez Mamun, Marketing Manager of Walton.

The conglomerate says that recent years have seen a boom in sales of its locally manufactured refrigerators in the domestic market and currently a total of 11 various brands of Walton refrigerators are available in the local market.

“We already have talked with dealers from a total of 13 countries around the world and by next year we would begin to export refrigerators in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia” Mamun said, adding “Walton has already shipped a range of its refrigerators to Sudan”.

The company says that the lower price of its products would give them a competitive advantage over other international competitors in the overseas market.

In addition, Walton is also looking to gear up its production of locally manufactured motorcycles by more than three fold, which it has identified as another highly potential market both home and abroad.

“Currently we churn out around 300 motorcycles per day from our factory in Gazipur. But by the beginning of the next year, we aiming to increase it to almost a thousand”, Mamun said.

The Bangladeshi company has recently signed an agreement with the Malaysian auto manufacturer Ageth to set up an automobile plant in its factory premise.

“Now we are hoping to commence the establishment of the plant by December which would ultimately see us manufacturing private cars and other automobiles within the country”, Mamun added.

Apart from the manufacturing of refrigerators and motorcycles, the company also assembles television, washing machine, generator, battery and energy saving lights while in the next summer; it is also planning to market its locally manufactured air conditioners.

R.B. Group- to which Walton is a subsidiary, first started its journey in 1977. The company started manufacturing and assembling electronic products back in 1996 and thus has played a pioneering role in electronics manufacturing in the country.

Walton showrooms all over the country are experiencing growing turnout of customers ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, one of the year’s busiest shopping periods. Huge rush of buyers is being seen at the all showrooms of metropolitan cities, district and upazila towns.

Company sources said: “Walton refrigerators have created huge enthusiasm among local customers as they became aware of Walton brand high quality refrigerators, manufactured at Walton Hi-tech Industries in Gazipur, being exported abroad.

During a visit to the Bashundhara City Shopping Complex, the largest shopping centre in the country, people were seen returning home after buying Walton refrigerators.

Sabina Mallik, a customer in the city’s Kathalbagan area said she had bought an 8cft refrigerator at Tk 18,500. About why she chose to buy this brand of refrigerator, Sabina Mallik told the correspondent that she had discussed the matter with her relatives and all had advised her to buy a Walton brand refrigerator, says a press release.

Bashundhara City Shopping Complex’s Walton Showroom Manager Lutfor Rahman said: “A refrigerator is not a thing of luxury now. Due to the impact of globalisation and improved technology, it is now within the purchasing capacity of middle class and lower middle class. RB Group offers every one essential commodities at competitive rates. Walton refrigerator prices are 20-30 per cent lower compared to imported ones.”

He informed that a 10cft Walton refrigerator was being sold at Tk 20,500 while the same refrigerator of other companies was being sold at Tk 30,000 in local market. A 12cft Walton refrigerator was being sold at Tk 23,500 while the same refrigerator of other companies at Tk 35,000.

He claims that the company has set up a service centre at every showroom with a view to providing after sales service, which also attracts the customers.

Sirajul Islam, Additional Director of RB Group of Companies, about the product said, “The Group always has something innovative and new for its consumers.” imported one.

He claims that the company is committed to exchange any sold product if any major fault is seen within five years and to provide five years service after selling. Walton also gives customers a facility of supplying colour, door, handle, etc as per customers’ choice.

One of the main features of Walton brand refrigerators is 100 per cent copper condense as a result there is no problem within two years. Compressors of Walton refrigerators are imported from Malaysia whose gas charge continues at least 10 years, he also claims.

A senior official of RB Group said in foreign countries a customer buys a refrigerator for two or three years. Later, the customer changes the model.

Walton, one of the leading electrical and electronics assemblers of the country, has introduced three new models of LCD television in the local market.

Director of the RB Group Sirajul Islam said, “To meet the customer satisfaction, our company has launched three new models of Walton TV in the market to cater to consumers.”

Islam said the new model Walton television sets ensure good quality sound and picture that viewers will enjoy.
The new model of Walton TV helps reduce electricity consumption and increase durability.

The price of TV set is most competitive as 42-inch set sells at 1,09,000 compared to other 42-inch LCD television set sells at Tk 2,50,000.

The electricity consumption is also less compared to the television that uses ‘tension mask.’

In this regard deputy director of this company Monirul Hasan said, as the Walton TV has the picture tube of PIL technology, it lasts long as well as saves on electric bill.

Quoting a survey report on the market, Hasan Swapan claimed that the picture tube of Walton TV lasts long as it uses the digital technology and ‘precision in line’ technology.

“Those three new models are already available in the market, which have YUV technology,” media adviser of RB Group, Mizanur Rahman disclosed this on recently.

He said, customer’s choices are change through the terms of time and technology. To meet the customer satisfaction, our company has launched those three new models of Walton TV in the market.

As these three new models contain high quality picture, sound with the assistance of digital decoding circuit, a TV viewer would easily enjoy the variation of brightness contrast and colour, he said. For this reason Walton LCD television is the most popular television in the market, he added.

Selling of refrigerators at Walton showrooms across the country are on the rise as the heat wave forces lower income people to opt for locally-made refrigerators, once dubbed as a luxury household item, cheaper price of which is making it affordable for more people.

Walton refrigerator, the first-ever locally made refrigerator, is drawing large number of customers for its affordable price and world class quality of the product.

Salma Islam, a housewife from Kalabagan, said at a Walton showroom at Bashundhara City in the city that she did not know that a local company was producing refrigerators at its own plant in the country. “As soon as I learnt that there is a locally made refrigerator in the market of world class standard and pretty cheap I made no delay in coming to Walton showroom to buy a refrigerator,” said Salma Islam.

Another customer from Kuril, Golam Mawla, said “I sought suggestion from my friends and relatives about buying a refrigerator and they all advised me to go for Walton refrigerator.”

Sajal Hassan, manager of the showroom, said that the company is producing refrigerator using Malaysian compressor with Japanese machinery and technology. Engineers from Japan are monitoring the production, which made these refrigerators better than the imported ones.

RB Group has launched commercial production of refrigerators at its large manufacturing plant in Gazipur.

The plant – Walton Hi-tech Industries – now produces about 6 lakh units of refrigerators against a demand for 4 lakh units across the country. About 2,500 workers are working in the plant, set up on 20 acres of land to meet the local demand and export abroad.

The high-tech industry plant started its journey setting up a composite manufacturing plant a few years back to produce refrigerators and some other electronic goods. In the Walton plant, all the backward linkage accessories are also being produced to support the main product. Several thousand workers are engaged in different sections like dice, mould, sheet processing, power press, powder coating, injection molding, pre-foaming, thermo-foaming, gasket making and packaging.

DHAKA,Bangladesh,July 11 (BSS)- Commerce Minister Lt Col (retd) Faruq Khan today said it was possible to export refrigerators and motor bikes of international standard produced in the country after meeting domestic demand.

He was visiting production process of Walton Hitech Industries Limited of Arby Group at Chandra under Gazipur district.

The factory can produce six-lakh refrigerators and 1,0,8000 motor bikes every year, which is more than the country’s total demand.

During the visit, the minister went round different production units and exchanged views with the owners and workers.

Appreciating quality production of the factory, Faruq Khan said that refrigerators and motorbikes produced here could easily be exported and assured of all cooperation from the government side in flourishing this sector.

Expressing satisfaction over the prevailing good relations between the owners and the workers, the minister said country’s skilled workers could prove their worthiness if they are provided with expected jobs.

As part of building digital Bangladesh, he said the commerce ministry would introduce e-commerce very soon and activities of the ministry could be monitored through its web-sites.

The factory management declared reduction of Taka 200 in each refrigerator and increasing salary of every worker by Taka 200.

Around 25,000 people have visited the fair. The local manufacturers expect orders worth Tk 100 million within one month of conclusion of the fair, said chairman of the fair sub-committee and executive member of the BEMMA Md. Nuruzzaman Khan.

“We are quite happy we have showcased quality electrical products at the fair and the visitors have accepted those warmly,” BEMMA president Md. Nasim Ullah Hemayet said.

He also said through holding this fair, the local electrical goods producers have been able to make interactions with the other people of this sector. Besides, the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) has shown interest to use the local electrical products instead of foreign products.